Daily Dothttp://www.dailydot.com/Daily Dot Articleen-usThu, 25 Aug 2011 21:40:24 +0000Anniversary of Aaliyah's death yields dark comedy from tragedyhttp://www.dailydot.com/entertainment/anniversary-aaliyah-death-twitter/<p><img src='//cdn0.dailydot.com/cache/86/2e/862eef6f9bee8a0eaa7e919d5298cc1e.jpg'></p><p>A late R&amp;B singer who once told people to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5AAcgtMjUI">&ldquo;Rock the Boat&rdquo;</a> is now rocking Twitter on the 10-year anniversary of her death.<br /><br />Aaliyah, the sultry singer from Brooklyn, died on Aug. 25, 2001, in a plane crash on Abaco Island in the Bahamas, <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/remembering-aaliyah-1979-2001-20110825">according to Rolling Stone</a>. She was 22 years old.<br /><br />Thousands of people paid their respects to the singer on Twitter using phrases and hashtags like <a href="http://analytics.topsy.com/?q=rock%20the%20boat">Rock the boat,</a> <a href="http://analytics.topsy.com/?q=%23oneinamillion">#oneinamillion</a>, and <a href="http://analytics.topsy.com/?q=%23oneinamillion">#aaliyah</a>. These terms have been mentioned more than 44,000 times combined in the last 24 hours, according to statistics from Topsy, a social media search engine.<br /><br />Aaliyah was at the top of her career when she died. She had sold more than two million albums, starred in &ldquo;Romeo Must Die&rdquo; and &ldquo;Queen of the Damned,&rdquo; and had been cast in both sequels to &ldquo;The Matrix,&rdquo; the magazine noted.<br /><br />Some of her well-known singles include <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehFDZU4hXbw">&ldquo;If Your Girl Only Knew,&rdquo;</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5AAcgtMjUI">&ldquo;Rock the Boat,&rdquo;</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTYxr-xZxIA">&ldquo;I Care 4 U.&rdquo;</a><br /><br />But songs never in her repertoire are appearing on another trending topic, <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search/%23AaliyahsAirplanePlaylist">#AaliyahsAirplanePlaylist</a>, used by some to poke fun at the singer&rsquo;s death. <br /><br />&ldquo;<a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23aaliyahsairplaneplaylist">#aaliyahsairplaneplaylist</a> It&rsquo;s Goin Down - Young Joc,&rdquo; <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/RT_NICKELZ/status/106823307923431424">tweeted @RT_NICKELZ</a>. <br /><br />&ldquo;<a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23aaliyahsairplaneplaylist">#aaliyahsairplaneplaylist</a> crash into me - Dave Matthews,&rdquo; <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/the_JAChammer/status/106804559694925824">tweeted @the_JAChammer</a>. <br /><br />That trending topic has earned the ire of thousands of loyal Aaliyah fans like @RonReaco.<br /><br />&ldquo;<a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23AaliyahsAirplanePlaylist">#AaliyahsAirplanePlaylist</a> is a very disrespectful trending topic; cherish the music, and not rejoice in such a horrific downfall,&rdquo;<a href="http://twitter.com/#!/RonReaco/status/106608202564648960"> tweeted @RonReaco</a>. <br /><br />The Daily Dot has reached out to Aaliyah&rsquo;s family for a comment on these trending topics and is waiting to hear back.<br /><br />Here are some tweets that caught the Daily Dot&rsquo;s attention.</p>
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<p><noscript>[<a href="http://storify.com/dailydot/twitter-remembers" target="blank">View the story "Thousands take to Twitter to remember R&B singer Aaliyah " on Storify]</a></noscript><br /><br /><em>Photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mboyot/2371112347/">mboyot</a></em></p>fernando@dailydot.com (Fernando Alfonso III)Thu, 25 Aug 2011 21:40:24 +0000http://www.dailydot.com/entertainment/anniversary-aaliyah-death-twitter/TwitterEntertainment